Recapping the Edmonton Oilers' work at the 2012 NHL Draft

It was a busy couple of days for the Edmonton Oilers, as the team made a total of seven picks (including the first overall selection) and restocked the system with forward prospects, with a special emphasis given to size.

With the first overall selection, the Oilers opted for the consensus best player in the draft, Nail Yakupov. There was a lot of speculation that the team would try and fix the back end with a pick like Ryan Murray or Griffin Reinhart, but instead they made the smart decision to focus on the best talent rather than the best fit for immediate team need. Profile here, comments from Oilers’ head amateur scout Stu MacGregor here.

Rumour has it that the Oilers tried hard to make a move up from 32nd overall and into the late first round to pick Henrik Samuelsson, but ultimately they were unsuccessful. With a ton of talent still on the board, Edmonton opted to draft big forward Mitch Moroz, a selection that would seem like “a bit of a reach” to many scouts, according to Oilers’ commentator Bob Stauffer. MacGregor explained that teams need to step up and grab the player they want if he’s available, and that Edmonton didn’t expect Moroz to last until round three. Profile here.

The third round brought a similar choice from Edmonton. With the 63rd overall pick the Oilers grabbed Jujhar Khaira, a big forward with some scoring ability and an edge to his play. As with Moroz, most lists had Khaira as a lower selection. Profile here.

The Oilers’ fourth-round pick also boasted size as a major asset, but unlike Moroz and Khaira he was actually picked lower than expected. Daniil Zharkov is a 6’3″ Russian playing in the OHL – he was dogmatic that a KHL future was not in the cards, saying that the told the team with his KHL rights that there was “no chance” he’d ever play for them – and a player with significant scoring ability. He also does not lack for confidence; he told Oilers play-by-play man Jack Michaels that he wants to be better than Nail Yakupov. Profile here.

The fifth round pick of the Oilers was Erik Gustafsson – not the Flyers’ defenseman, an overager playing in Sweden’s top league. Very few lists ranked Gustafsson, but his totals in the SEL are quite good for his age. Profile here.

The overage theme continued with sixth round pick Joey Laleggia. Laleggia is an undersized defenseman at the University of Denver, and is a former teammate and friend of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He’s put up fantastic scoring numbers in college hockey. Profile here.

The Oilers’ final selection was also an overaged college selection. John McCarron is at Cornell University and has plus size and some scoring ability. Profile here.

Honestly, the overall feel to this draft strikes me as very similar to what the Oilers did back in 2003, with one big difference. In 2003, Edmonton traded down rather than pick Zach Parise – they were small up front and felt they couldn’t afford to spend the pick on a small forward; instead they opted for Marc Pouliot. Here, they didn’t foolishly stare at their big-league roster and out-think themselves, they just took the best player at number one: Nail Yakupov.

The rest of the way, though, there are a lot of similarities. In 2003 the Oilers consistently grabbed big body forwards – Colin McDonald, Jean-Francois Jacques and Zack Stortini were all top-100 picks, and Moroz and Khaira fit a similar mold: guys with size and some potential who might or might not develop an offensive game. In 2003 a big Russian with excellent talent in Mikhail Zhukov was one of two third-round picks; this year a big Russian with excellent talent in Zharkov was one of two third-round picks. Overage players rounded out much of the rest of the picture – Mathieu Roy, Kyle Brodziak and David Rohlfs; those roles are filled this year by Gustafsson, Laleggia and McCarron.

All of the players the Oilers grabbed are excellent assets to have in the organization. General manager Steve Tambellini explained that the emphasis on size was because it’s so difficult to find big forwards with skill via trade; for teams to land those guys, they need to draft them. Maybe this is the year it works out, but if history repeats itself the Oilers will regret leaving talent on the board to land a specific type of player.

Still, they made the most important decision right, and took the best player available first overall.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Market to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.